ShopEatSleep

OK, so I’m totally late to the game with this post (if you read my fellow bloggers’ posts below, you’ll understand), but how could I not blog about a noodle soup with broth made from the animal blood whose parts you’re eating? I could not not blog about that. So here I go, better late than never!

Tony of SinoSoul organized a get-together of like-minded foodies to try out one of Thai Town’s best-kept secrets: boat noodles. Foodies may know about this flavorful soup dish, but it’s not exactly on the tip of most people’s tongues when talking about Thai food. That’s probably because — wait for it — the soup is made from beef and pork blood. Yes, blood. And to top it off, all kinds of offal are thrown in for good measure.

Now I’m not a big fan of eating internal organs, but I was willing to at least try boat noodles once. So along with Tony; Jessica of Eat, Sip, Chew; Anjali of Delicious Coma; Louise of Naked Sushi; Wesley of Two Hungry Pandas; Marie of Starchy Marie and many others, I made my way out to Thai Town to embark on a boat noodle showdown between Sapp Coffee Shop (which has been featured on “No Reservations“) and Ord Noodle.

First up was Sapp, which despite its coffee shop moniker is actually a restaurant. I decided to start off easy and ordered a bowl of boat noodles ($5.50) with just meat and no offal. I loved it. The broth was dense with flavor, and the noodles, similar to the thin rice Vietnamese pho noodles, had a good bite to them. I didn’t really like the fried pork rinds, A.K.A. chicarrones for my Latino friends, that were placed on top, but the meat was nice and tender.

Some of us also shared a plate of jade noodles, which is a dish of dry (sans soup) spinach-dyed noodles topped with barbeque pork, crab, roasted duck, baby bok choy, green onions, crushed peanuts, spice and sugar. It comes unmixed, so you have to mix it together yourself. This was a good dish, too. It was sweeter than the boat noodles, which was decidedly savory, and refreshing.

Next up was Ord Noodle, just a few blocks down Hollywood Boulevard from Sapp. The space is more inviting than Sapp’s, but I can’t say the same for the service. The folks at Sapp were very pleasant and accommodating, especially since we were a large group and one of us needed a vegan meal. But the woman who waited on us at Ord seemed more than put out that we showed up to patronize her establishment. You’d think that you’d be more than happy to have a large group of people walk into your restaurant. Well, for anyone who has ever eaten at an Asian restaurant, you don’t expect good service, and rude service isn’t unexpected, either. But still.

Anyway, at Ord I went for the boat noodles with offal. I was feeling bold by this time. I ate some tripe, which didn’t really taste like anything and had a texture that reminded me of jelly fish. Then I tried some beef liver, and boy was that a mistake. I just thought it tasted dirty, which makes sense since it’s liver. I will not be eating that again. Other than that, the rest of the dish — the broth, the noodles and the meat — were decent, though I didn’t find the broth as flavorful as Sapp’s. But what Ord calls a “small” bowl is just about the same size as Sapp’s regular bowl and only costs $3.50.

So if you’re looking for a really cheap, really filling meal, go with Ord. But if you’re willing to fork over two more dollars, go with Sapp. The deeper flavors are totally worth it.

To cap off our night in Thai Town, we stopped at Bhan Kanom Thai, a sweets shop also on Hollywood Boulevard. This place offers all kinds of goodies, but my favorite (so far) is the panchi, a little cake made from taro, corn, shredded coconut and sugar. It was a good thing I only got one because those little purple bundles of joy would certainly have been the death of me, they were so good.

So do yourself a favor and go to Thai Town and eat. Your taste buds will thank you.